It's a clear, though chilly (2C) day at the farmette. It was supposed to be rainy, not just for today but for most of the week ahead. Which is why yesterday, we had a NO-HOLDS-BARRED, full contact, take no prisoners raking session that lasted most of the day.
We love our farmette. The gorgeous old maples that grace the front and sides of the property truly are magnificent. They also, at this time of year drop a crapload of leaves. That's a technical term in Grey County.
While environmentalists warn us to leave the leaves, we actually would have no lawn if we followed that advice. Plus, this was just the first leaf drop - there will be plenty more for the critters to cosy up in over the winter months.
Out we went into the crisp, cold autumn air equipped the JD tractor and our trusty little jerry-rigged cart with the burlap addition. It holds about three times the amount of detritus as the original, and boy did we need the volume.
The leaves were actually still wet - especially near Douglas Street, where there's a REALLY thick layer and the rains of last week had soaked all the earth and was actually pooled by the side of the road. The upside was that we could get a lot more material per load than if they were completely dry. Downside - trying to hoik the damn stuff out of the dumper to deposit it in the back forty (actually, our two-acre scruffy field to the south).
Anyhow. The air was nice and soft, we had warm clothes and gloves and the nice people from the Lion's Club stopped for a visit while they cleaned up their adopted street. We also uncovered - and left undisturbed - this amazing fungus. Cool, eh?
We started at about 10 a.m. and were done the entire front of the property by 4:30 p.m., with a two-hour hiatus for lunch and a wee nap in the middle. Not bad for a couple of folks who are, ahem, getting on.
Gotta say we got a little punchy towards the end - goading each other with ear worms (the theme from the Addams Family, Africa by Toto, and Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars). We also started making up ghoulish stories about finding severed hands in the leaf piles. F-U-N.
Today, I think we'll take a bit of a rest.
Maybe read a good book (I'm currently soaking in Miriam Toews' Fight Night) ahead of a busy work week (well, for me, anyway).
I'm grateful to be healthy enough to do the heavy lifting, enjoy the clean autumn air, and most of all to be living at the farmette with Rob and the furballs.
Hope everyone stays safe and happy. Until next week.